She had no face.
Nothing. It was empty, blank.
“I’m coming for my powers. They belong to me. You will give them to me or lose everything you hold dear.”
Gasping, I shot wide awake and sat straight up in bed.
Daniel mumbled beside me and set a hand on my leg. “What’s wrong?”
My heart raced, but there was no danger here. It had only been a dream. No, a nightmare. Yet when I settled down and reassured Daniel that I was fine, the woman’s words haunted me.
She wanted her powers back. Still, it was only a dream, right?
Right?
Ugh.
2
EMMA
It was painfullyearly when my alarm went off. I slammed it off with a groan, not wanting to wake Daniel after our late night, then rushed to get ready. Stupid me had made plans with the girls bright and early, so stupid me would have to drag my butt through my morning routine until I got my sweet, sweet coffee in hand.
My phone buzzed with a text from Beth.I’m outside.
I sighed, looked at myself in the mirror, patted a little more concealer under my eyes, then headed for the door. When I opened it, I threw my hands up to shield my eyes. The day was far, far too bright. I winced against the sunlight and pulled my sunglasses out of my purse before heading down the driveway to Beth’s waiting car. Behind me, the waves called me from the ocean. The days would be warm this next week, so come hell or high water I was determined to get in as much swimming as possible.
Not today. Today there was work to be done.
Beth leaned against the hood of her new car. With all the business that Private Psych had brought in since Karma, AKA me, came to town, Beth had decided to treat herself to the beast. Me? I’d put most of my share of the profits into a savings account in case my son decided to get his master’s degree, or for a wedding with his witchy girlfriend. Not witchy in the mean sense, witchy in the good sense, like all my best friends.
Beth’s beast was a burned-red four-door 1964 Pontiac Catalina. It was a cool-looking car, but I had to admit I didn’t completely understand her obsession with it. She said a long time ago that her grandpa used to drive one. She’d loved the pictures of him driving it because he'd always looked so happy, which was enough for me to understand her attachment to it. Actually, the smile on her face was enough for me to be happy she purchased the damn thing. Even if it was a bit of a boat. More than a bit. It was a frickin' land yacht.
A car door slammed next door. I withheld a sigh. Our long-time neighbors had decided to move from Mystic Hollow to sunny Florida. The result was far too many people traipsing through the house next to mine. I only hoped whoever bought their beautiful beach house didn’t end up being loud, annoying, or a pain in the butt. Bad neighbors were worse than a sewer leak, and they stuck around longer.
My gaze moved to the car. It was the real estate agent, Marigold. We’d gone to high school together, and her obnoxious personality hadn’t gotten better with time. Today she was dressed to the nines. Her long blonde hair was blown out, and she wore enough makeup that it had a glare to it.
Yesterday she’d been showing an older couple the house in sneakers and sweats. Today she was in a pink, tight-as-sin, dress. She actually managed to pull off the look, which I didn’t begrudge her for, but it was a bit confusing. Why the outfit?
Before I could ask Beth, the passenger door opened, and a man stepped out. He was beautiful. Not handsome the way my Daniel was but dazzling in an unexpected way. His brown hair had gray streaked throughout it, and his eyes were dark blue framed by arched brows. He was a little heavy, but not in an unattractive way. It was more like he was someone who didn’t care about watching every calorie, yet still came out ahead. Not a bad thing. He had to be the reason Marigold was so dressed up.
His gaze moved from the house to me. For a second, the world trembled when our eyes locked. Not attraction. More like power. His gaze moved and locked onto Beth. Surprise flashed in his eyes, and I turned to look at Beth. Her mouth had dropped, and she gawked at him.
I looked between the two of them, wondering if they knew each other. He didn’t look familiar to me, but then there were a lot of people I knew as a teen that I wouldn’t recognize now. Hmm. Maybe he was trouble.
Marigold looked toward us. Her smile faded away, replaced by a frown. She tried to steer the man into the house, but instead, he headed toward us, stopping in front of us on the sidewalk.
“Hello, I’m Wade Bourne.” He reached out his hand, but he wasn’t reaching for me. All Beth.
She, however, ignored his hand, so I stepped forward and took it. “I’m Emma Pier—er—Foxx, and this is my home,” I said, pointing to it as if it wasn’t obvious. Awkwarrrrrrd. What had made me decide to go back to my maiden name at this precise moment?
A flicker of sadness flashed in his eyes, then he released my hand. “How do you like living here Ms. Foxx?”
“Emma is fine,” I rushed out, then cleared my throat. “I love living here. This house has been in my family for several generations.”
He nodded. “I spent most of my life in California. I found myself wanting to retire somewhere else, but the ocean was a requirement. When a rare home in this area goes up for sale, I have to come here and see it for myself.”
I smiled. “Mystic Hollow is like no place else on earth.”
